Duncan left the barracks and as he was leaving, he felt a bit guilty. Thinking about Shaya he knew most of the stuff that was being said about him came from Demira making her own conclusions on very limited information which he himself implored Shaya not to share.
“Ahh, damn it,” he thought as he turned around and went to the training yard.
Once there he saw Shaya sitting on a rock with Demira in the distance shooting arrows at the targets. Shaya had noticed him long before he noticed her and she was watching him approach and wave.
Duncan sighed. He took a deep breath and walked toward her.
“Hello, we need to talk,” he said as he came into the hearing distance.
“Hello. What about?” Shaya asked with tension in her voice.
“Your guarding team partner spreading rumors about me for instance,” Duncan said as he eyed Demira in the distance.
Shaya frowned and looked at the archery range before saying, “What rumors?”
“I was informed I am a selfish man who took all the loot and didn’t even form a party to let you get experience,” Duncan replied looking at Demira.
Shaya was quiet for a while.
“I never told her that. She was pumping me for information and I might have answered some yes and no questions,” Shaya said.
“Were they about loot and party formation perhaps?” Duncan asked.
“Maybe. I don’t really remember I was tired,” she replied before asking, “Is that why you went with Captain Fenris and Petris to the mine?”
“I asked Fenris since you were on guard duty before I knew of it. Petris revealed what the rest of the guards think of me now. He demanded we form a party as a condition to join us in the mine,” Duncan replied.
“I didn’t even know I could form parties since my level was too low,” Duncan continued and waved his hands.
“I know. At first, I thought you didn’t want to, since I was useless in the mine but when you revealed your level, I knew that was not the case,” Shaya replied.
Duncan nodded and added, “He also mentioned you didn’t get any loot and wanted a guarantee that we will share.”
“Yeah, I didn’t demand any of the loot in the mine since I didn’t do anything to help. The kills on the outside were a thank you for letting me level,” Shaya replied.
“Demira must have asked you if you had gotten any loot and you said no. Then she came to her own conclusions. The same way when she asked you if we formed a party,” Duncan deduced.
Shaya had a guilty expression on her face before asking, “What do you want to do?”
“I want you to talk to your teammate and explain to her. Then I want her to explain her misunderstanding to all the other guards. If it comes from the horse's mouth, they will believe it more than if it comes from me or Petris,” Duncan explained.
“I will explain it to her. No need to call her a horse,” Shaya said defensively.
Duncan frowned, “It’s just an expression where I come from. It means the source of the information. If I wanted to insult her, I could think of a lot better insults for that 150-year-old kid.”
“She acts like one sometimes but she isn’t,” Shaya responded. Her instincts were to defend her teammate even though she knew Demira was at fault.
“I will go now before she comes here,” Duncan said and started walking.
“Will you ever let me join you in the mine again?” Shaya asked.
“We will see. But don’t go in there alone. There are Ghouls inside that can kill you with a scratch if you don’t have an antidote for their poison. We were on the verge of death and didn’t even know it. Twice!” Duncan said and sighed, shaking his head as he left. Shaya followed him with her gaze and then looked at Demira.
“150-year-old kid,” she murmured and smiled, “not a bad description.”
“Maybe I should spank her,” she murmured and sighed, before shaking her head.
As Duncan went by Bolgar’s shop he heard the tell-tale noise of a hammer hitting metal so he decided to stop by and greet the dwarf.
When he came inside, he was greeted by the smell of iron and the heat from the forge, and an angry dwarf hitting making iron blades again.
“Hi, Bolgar. What did the anvil ever do to you?” Duncan greeted.
Bolgar turned around, dropping his hammer and wiping his hands on his apron, “Oh. It’s you. Hello. I got another order of the stupid iron swords.”
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He spat on the blade he was working on before he stomped over to a small table and got a minor healing potion to wipe on his hands.
“I even offered to make the steel swords at the same cost but was denied,” he said shaking his head.
“By the mayor?” Duncan asked.
“No. By one of her flunkies Rathan. I didn’t get the privilege to meet the mayor in ages,” Bolgar replied.
“Who is this Rathar?” Duncan asked.
“It’s Rathan and he is her assistant. A sycophantic weasel of a man,” Bolgar replied, shaking his head before drinking a mug of water.
“How many do you need to make?” Duncan asked.
“Fifty in a week’s time…” Bolgar replied.
“I can help you tomorrow and the day after for sure if you want. Today I have some things to do,” Duncan offered.
“I would appreciate it. Tell me, when can you get that copper ore you mentioned?” Bolgar asked with an expectant expression.
Duncan thought about the mine and shuddered how close they were to disaster. He gritted his teeth as he thought about Elland’s new potions before he said, “Probably by the end of the week.”
“Who will go with you?” Bolgar inquired as he went to grab his hammer again.
“Probably the same crew as last time Fenris and Petris, unless Shaya joins but I doubt it. I think she has to cover for Fenris when he is out,” Duncan explained.
“Alright, be safe. I really have to hurry with this. If there isn’t anything else you need?” Bolgar asked.
“No. I will leave you to it. See you at Wazsh’s tonight?” Duncan replied.
“Maybe. I still have three of these shitty sword blades to make and seven pommels today,” Bolgar replied.
Duncan nodded and left after saying goodbye.
The cooler air outside hit him in his face as he walked down Main Street. Considering what else he had to do today he decided to do some more reading. There were only four books left so he could finish them before his appointment with Maryka.
Wazsh’s bar was empty as he came back and he got to his room without seeing anyone.
He took the ‘Traps from beginners to experts vol. 1’ into his hands and activated [Reading]. After about half an hour he got a Trapper skill level of 2.
[ You have learned the Trapping skill level 1 ]
[Endurance +0.1 ]
[Perception +0.1 ]
[Wisdom +0.1 ]
[ You have learned the Trapping skill level 2 ]
[Endurance +0.2 ]
[Perception +0.2 ]
[Wisdom +0.2 ]
“Nice. I don’t know what trapping has to do with Endurance but I will take it,” Duncan said to himself.
He immediately started the second volume and got his trap skill to level 3.
[ You have learned the Trapping skill level 3 ]
[Endurance +0.3 ]
[Perception +0.3 ]
[Wisdom +0.3 ]
The last one brought it to level 4 which Duncan found weird considering the title.
[ You have learned the Trapping skill level 4 ]
[Endurance +0.4 ]
[Perception +0.4 ]
[Wisdom +0.4 ]
“Maybe there are volumes missing?” he mumbled as he closed it.
The knowledge he got from it certainly could not be qualified as expert knowledge. There were basic rope traps in the first volume explained in detail. In the second one, there were different kinds of snares. In the third one projectile traps. No magic traps were even mentioned let alone explained.
The good thing about the books was that they explained how to detect or even get out of each one of these traps. The first volume was a bit loose on that for obvious reasons. Carrying a sharp object that could cut the rope was a normal occurrence so getting out of rope traps was expected to be trivial for readers.
Duncan shook his head and started on the last book ‘History and Geography of Zynnia’. It was a tome as thick as all three of the trapmaking books combined and bigger by more than half.
It was the biggest book of them all and was supporting the rest on the bottom of the pile. He took a big breath and activated reading.
His mind went wild with the information being absorbed and cataloged by the nanobots. From geography to history.
The mountain ranges, lakes, ports, and seas were all explained in detail in the book. Duncan learned Zynnia was the name of the peninsula and also the kingdom. The capital was named Zynnfandell after the first king.
The bigger cities were drawn on a map which made Zynnia look like Florida but angled horizontally. He still didn’t know where he was though since small villages, like the one he was in, were not mentioned at all.
From the village, he could not see any mountains so he knew he was in a flatland area but that only narrowed it down to approximately a dozen possible positions on the map.
As for history, it started with the emblems of different important noble houses. The royal family of Zynnia’s lineage was described in detail for forty generations.
Important events in the past such as wars, natural disasters, and astronomical events were also described in detail. Races of Zynnia and their habitats were explained with vague references of approximate locations.
The diplomatic relations between different races were briefly explained and Duncan learned there were far more races than he met in Zynnia alone.
Duncan’s face got flushed red as he gritted his teeth from the ensuing headache that came. As he came back to his senses, he checked the time and 2 hours had passed. Duncan felt awful. A throbbing headache and hunger assaulted him all at once. He sweated buckets as the relentless information river poured into his mind.
He quickly got out of his clothes in the bathroom and took a shower since he was about to miss his appointment with his tailor yet again if he did not hurry.
His [ LOG ] was flashing in the corner and he opened it.
[ You have learned the Identify skill level 11 ]
[Intelligence +1.1 ]
[Wisdom +1.1 ]
[ You have learned the Geography skill level 1 ]
[Perception +0.1 ]
[Wisdom +0.1 ]
“I wonder if there is a Cartography skill also?” Duncan asked himself out loud as he closed the [ LOG ].
He rushed downstairs and saw Wazsh who was in the kitchen.
“Hello. Do you know the name of the nearest big town from here?” Duncan asked as he was making his way to the bar.
Wazsh nodded before replying, “Redfield. Why are you asking?”
Duncan remembered it was the name of a small blip in the middle of the extreme end of the peninsula.
“I read a book that had a map but this village was too small for it. Redfield was mentioned though. Sorry but I have to run,” Duncan said quickly as he rushed out the door.
Wazsh shrugged and continued cooking.